Reviews

Me encantó. Fácil de leer y rápido. La mitad del libro me lo leí en una sentada y el resto durante el dia. Me gusta que no haya habido tanto drama !!!!!! obvio hubo algún que otro percance pero se resolvía dentro de todo rápido y no se encuentran muchos libros así, la mayoría tienen mucho drama cuando las cosas (a veces) pueden ser un poco más simples.

judeinthestars's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I’ll blame the fact that we now have so many sapphic books to choose from as the reason I hadn’t read one by Stephanie Shea until now. Chef’s Kiss was such an easy, heartwarming listen that I really look forward to more of hers.

It was also my first narration by A.J. Ferraro and it fits the tone and characters well, adding to the overall enjoyment of it all.

So, what’s Chef’s Kiss about? Valentina Rosas’s dream is very close to coming true when she’s offered a staging role at star restaurant Gia, San Francisco. Tripping in front of her idol, renowned chef Jenn Coleman, wasn’t how she imagined their first encounter, however.

Both women have wildly different personalities and they complement each other perfectly. There’s a lot of sweet tension between them as they encounter a few bumps on their journey to each other. Valentina is an extrovert, full of energy and joy, whereas Jenn is reserved, focused on her two Michelin restaurants and her teenage son. Valentina can count on the unwavering support of lovely—albeit slightly overbearing—parents in Mexico and her best friend/roommate Zoe, who’ll follow her anywhere she needs to be. Jenn, the daughter of a Black woman and an Italian man, who named her restaurants after her nonna, maintains a friendly and respectful relationship with her ex, Rachel. Her best friend (and employee) Avery also keeps an eye on her. There are no on-page villains in this story (there is in one of the MCs’ background), all the characters are endearing, flaws and all.

From what I can tell, Shea’s depiction of the restaurant kitchen energy is accurate. I could have done with a bit more detail about the food itself, first because food is life and also because I know so little about Mexican food that I had a hard time picturing what Italian-Mexican fusion would taste like. It sounds really delicious, though.

Read all my reviews on my blog (and please buy from the affiliation links!): Jude in the Stars

mischievous_monkey's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Sabroso

I enjoyed this tasty treat of a romance. The writing was very descriptive throughout so that I felt the heat of the kitchen as well as that of the bedroom, which is where some romance writers shoot their wad (yeah, I said that). The setting of San Francisco, the age gap/boss-employee love story and the person of color main characters all worked for me and I am anticipating continuing the series.

emzhay's review

Go to review page

emotional lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Such a pleasant and fun read! Loved the characters. There’s just enough angst to give them depth, but not so much that it stresses me out as a reader.

Content Warnings

merushkacarls's review

Go to review page

medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

lezreadalot's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

She just couldn’t afford to care. Then, an intern trips into her with faltering grace, patient eyes and a zeal for everything, especially a future in the kitchen, and God help her, she cared too much.

4.5 stars. Sometimes you read a book and you just become besotted with the characters and their romance, and this was that for me. I loved this!

This was a pretty short, simple f/f romance about a young chef who lands her dream job, kind of an internship, with a renowned chef who she's always admired. Valentina is a great mix of focused and relaxed and eager and super kind, and she's determined to make the best impression at the restaurant and with her new boss. Jenn is a bit older, divorced with a teenage son, not much of a people person, with an attitude that makes her seem cold/standoffish. But she and Valentina, after a bit of a rough start, end up cultivating the sweetest, sexist romance and I fell head over heels for them.

“I would show you everything about me, if you just asked.”

I loved every part of this story: Valentina's relationship with her parents and her best friend; Jenn's relationships with her ex-wife (I LOVE seeing relationships with exes in books that aren't all about jealousy and toxicity; they both handled themselves like mature adults who loved their kid, and it was so refreshing); seeing the ins and outs of life in a restaurant. Even though this is on the short side, it felt fully realised, and not really rushed at all. None of the conflict felt outsized or inappropriate for the book. I can't stress how much I adored these two women: Jenn isn't quite grumpy, but broody in a way that masks her awkwardness, and I LOVED how Valentina could make her flustered. Valentina herself is a new book crush for sure. And I also loved how this touched on being women of colour in a field that's dominated by white men.

I did feel like the author could have done more to really integrate the B-plot (which I really liked and appreciated) into the book as a whole, and I kinda wish we got more restaurant scenes, because the ones that we did get were so interesting! Otherwise, this was a complete winner for me, and I'm very glad to have found this author. I'll be checking out more of her work soon, hopefully!

Content warnings:

Spoiler

discussion of cancer, parental abandonment, teen homelessness, abuse, parental death

“Who even are you?”
She held Jenn closer, tighter, lips against Jenn’s ear when she whispered, “Yours.”

More...